This invention relates to a heated door, and more particularly the heated ventilation door for a potato storage facility.
Perhaps one of the most difficult challenges a potato grower faces is the management of potato storage. Storage temperature, in the majority of cold weather storages, is manually adjusted and maintained by a series of air mixing doors or louvers that are opened or closed with ropes and pulleys. Unless a 24-hour vigil is held, even the most diligent storage manager cannot maintain a constant air plenum temperature. Repeated temperature fluctuations of as little as two degrees can diminish the quality of the potato. Storage management is further complicated when the manager must manually cool or warm the product at a constant rate over a specific period of time.
Systems have been provided for automatically controlling the operation of the ventilation doors in storage facilities but they are extremely complex and are difficult to maintain. Further, in cold weather climates, the ventilation doors tend to freeze due to the moisture associated with the materials being stored. If the ventilation door freezes, control of the storage temperature within the storage facility is virtually impossible.
It is therefore a principal object of the invention to provide a heated door for a storage facility.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a heated ventilation door for a storage facility which includes a thermostatically-controlled heating unit designed to conserve energy by eliminating excessive fluid heating.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a heated ventilation door for a storage facility which is de-energized when the door is in its open condition.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a heated ventilation door for a storage facility which is easy to install and which requires very little maintenance.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a heated ventilation door for a storage facility which is economical of manufacture, durable and refined in appearance.
These and other objects of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art.